First modification:
An agreement signed on Friday, July 22, 2022 under the auspices of Turkey and the United Nations contemplates a maritime corridor to alleviate the food crisis caused by the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. A day later, Russia attacked the port of Odessa.
What initially represented a glimmer of hope for Ukraine faded over the weekend, sparking fears about the world’s food supply. The pact signed on Friday that allows grain exports from the Black Sea region to resume was left in suspense after Russia launched missiles at the Ukrainian port of Odessa.
However, the parties seem to agree that the supply of grains be resumed this week. On the one hand, Moscow dismissed concerns that the deal could be derailed, saying its attack on Saturday only targeted military infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the attack as “barbaric” showing that the Kremlin “cannot be trusted”, although one of his top officials assured that the first grain shipment from Ukraine could be made from Chornomorsk this very day. week.
“We believe that for the next 24 hours we will be ready to work to resume exports from our ports,” Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuriy Vaskov said.
A deal aimed at averting a global food crisis
The Russian Black Sea fleet has blocked Ukraine’s grain exports since the invasion of Moscow on February 24, leaving global wheat shortages and skyrocketing energy prices in Europe as some of the most far-reaching effects. from the war.
Moscow denies responsibility for the food crisis and blames Western sanctions for curbing its food and fertilizer exports and Ukraine for undermining access to its ports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is touring several African countries, said there were no barriers to grain exports and nothing in the deal prevented Moscow from attacking military infrastructure in Ukraine.
For his part, Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin, assured that the United Nations must guarantee that restrictions on Russian fertilizers are lifted so that the agreement signed on Friday works.
Before the invasion and sanctions, Russia and Ukraine accounted for nearly a third of world wheat exports.
With Reuters and EFE
Add Comment